Introduction: Lack of adherence to physical activity programs represents a common issue to several populations, including stroke suvivors. Self-management interventions have been recommended as a method to support the physical activity program. Objective: To investigate the feasibility of a self-management program to improve the level of physical activity in stroke survivors. Method: A Phase I, single group, pre-post intervention study, was carried out with twenty individuals following acute stroke with mild disability. The self-management program consisted of six home sessions over three months focusing in health education, exercise preferences implementations, barriers to exercise identification, self-monitoring and feedback. Outcome measures were attendance at sessions, duration of the sessions, distance and cost of transportation to the participant's home, and adverse events. The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee (CAAE: 65672517.6.0000.5149). Results: Twenty individuals were recruited. The mean age of participants was 64 years (SD 11.2); with a mean walking speed of 1.0 m/s (SD 0.15). A total of 111 sessions (94%) were delivered, and the mean time spent at each home session was 57 minutes. The mean distance from the university to the participant's home was 13.7km (SD 5.7), and the transportation fuel cost was US$ 3.40 (SD 1.4) for each transfer. There were three adverse events: one recurrence of stroke; one cardiac surgery and one hospitalization due to hyperglycemia. Conclusion: The self-management physical activity program for stroke survivors with mild disability appears to be feasible regarding to attendance, duration and cost of the home sessions.

Self-management physical activity program for Brazilian stroke survivors with mild disability: a feasibility study